ASMR for me has nothing to do with the sound of someone crunching a mid-flight Air France crouton. No, it’s all about the airline status match reality I’m currently facing. Prepare your small violins for this one. In my last post, I mentioned about how Emirates was quite open to the idea of a status […]
Europe
Chinatown Around the World
As a child, I used to think that the Manhattan Chinatown was one of the coolest neighborhoods to wander around. Whether it was the detailed writing system, the food, or the history, I was enthralled. But how would it compare with other Chinatowns around the world? After starting to travel, I realized that New York […]
Metro Access to Istanbul International Airport
If you, too, are as interested as I am in mass transit, then I’ve got some good news– there’s now metro access to Istanbul International Airport (IST). On 29 January the M11 metro line, connecting IST to Gayrettepe transfer station near downtown Istanbul, started operations. For your reference, I’ve added a snippet of the official […]
Korean Carrier T’Way Air Starting its First Flight to Europe
Starting right before summer, you will be able to fly T’Way Air to Europe. More specifically, from Seoul to Zagreb, Croatia. T’Way Air? Whuh? That’s a fair reaction. I tend to think new airlines appear every other day in South Korea. It’s as if offering a route from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju Island — the […]
Taiwan’s Back in the News, so Here’s a Brief History of KLM asia
In 1995, KLM set up KLM asia specifically to fly to Taiwan. This was because the Chinese government wouldn’t allow national carriers to fly to both Taiwanese and Chinese destinations. Basically, to capitalize on growing business and tourism demand from both Taiwan and China, a number of airlines set up subsidiaries to appease the mainland; […]
Coins, Coins, Obnoxious Coins
Coins are obnoxious. Kudos to Canada for stopping the minting of the tangible penny. Denmark’s central bank hasn’t produced paper money or coins, nor did it have a single bank robbery in 2022. Moreover, why can’t we change this metal at a currency exchange place? Too many irritating reasons. Yet on the flip side, a […]
Lounge Review: Airport Lounge World, Munich (MUC)
If you’re flying out of Munich’s Terminal 2, you may want to know that it currently doesn’t have Priority Pass lounges. Lufthansa lounges, for sure, but that’s about it. Then … how does one get to Airport Lounge World? Consequently, if you have the time — and zeal — to get to a Priority Pass […]
Review: iGA Lounge, Istanbul (IST)
Before March 2023, the last time I had visited the iGA Lounge at Istanbul International Airport was September 2021. That was a time when … … when ghostbusting was back in vogue, and when you couldn’t shoot pool because the stripes weren’t vaccinated. March 2023’s visit showed that much had changed vis-a-vis COVID-19. Entrance After […]